• 2002 Olympics Puck Possession Project

    As North American hockey players moved their games from the ponds and flooded back yards of Canada and the northern States into the ice arenas, a transition from being able to practice whenever they wanted to "let's use the expensive ice time for games instead of practice" took place.
     

     

    katie king 02 oly vs swe 586a.gifA belief that players will learn their skills in a game as well as a practice situation has been challenged ever since.

     


    During the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, a study was conducted to observe some of the best men and women hockey players in the world.

     


    The observers watched and recorded these premier players' puck on stick possession times compared to their actual time on the ice to answer the question of whether those times could be fairly considered as a practice for stick handling skills.

    USA Hockey Magazine's Harry Thompson wrote a feature article on the study.

     


    The results offer information on the following: Players studied, Time on Ice, Number of Shifts Played, Number of puck on stick touches, Number of passes received, Number of passes made, Number and type of shots attempted, and Total puck on stick possession times by period and game.

     

     

     

    Key:  

    IT  

    PA  

    PR  

    PPT  

    T  

      Ice Time Pass Attempts Passes Received Possession Time Puck Touches

     

    Overall results:   Gender   Player   Team  

    Date  

    Teams  

     

    Feb. 24

    Canada vs. USA (Gold Medal)

    Daily Conclusion  

    Feb. 23

    Belarus vs. Russia (Bronze Medal)

    Daily Conclusion  

    Feb. 22

    Belarus vs. Canada
    USA vs. Russia

    Not available

    Feb. 21

    Finland vs. Sweden (W) (Bronze Medal)
    USA vs. Canada (W) (Gold Medal)

    Not available

    Feb. 20

    Belarus vs. Sweden
    Czech Republic vs. Russia
    USA vs. Germany
    Belarus vs. Sweden

    Not available

    Feb. 19

    Canada vs. Finland (W)
    Kazakhstan vs. China (W)
    Germany vs. Russia (W)
    USA vs. Sweden (W)

    Daily Conclusion  

    Feb. 18

    Belarus vs. Russia
    Russia vs. Finland
    Czech Republic vs. Canada
    Germany vs. Sweden

    Daily Conclusion  

    Feb. 17

    Russia vs. China (W)
    Sweden vs. Czech Republic
    Canada vs. Germany
    Germany vs. Kazkhstan (W)

    Daily Conclusion  

    Feb. 16

    USA vs. Finland (W)
    Germany vs. China (W)
    Finland vs. Belarus
    Canada vs. Sweden (W)
    USA vs. Russia

    Daily Conclusion  

    Feb. 15

    Russia vs. Belarus
    Kazakhstan vs. Russia (W)
    Canada vs. Sweden
    Czech Republic vs. Germany

    Daily Conclusion  

    Feb. 14

    Finland vs. Germany (W)
    China vs. USA (W)
    Switzerland vs. Austria
    Latvia vs. Ukraine
    Slovakia vs. France

    Daily Conclusion  

    Feb. 13

    Sweden vs. Kazakhstan (W)
    Russia vs. Canada (W)
    France vs. Ukraine
    Switzerland vs. Belarus

    Daily Conclusion  

    Feb. 12

    USA vs. Germany (W)
    Finland vs. China (W)
    Slovakia vs. Austria
    Germany vs. Latvia

    Daily Conclusion  

    Feb. 11

    Canada vs. Kazakhstan (W)
    Sweden vs. Russia (W)
    Ukraine vs. Switzerland
    Belarus vs. France

    Daily Conclusion  

    Feb. 10

    Latvia vs. Slovakia
    Austria vs. Germany

    Daily Conclusion  

    Feb. 9

    Belarus vs. Ukraine
    Austria vs. Latvia
    Switzerland vs. France
    Slovakia vs. Germany

    Daily Conclusion  

 

T

NATIONAL CALENDAR